Netherlands Firm Tasked With Making Guwahati Flood-Free: Ashok Singhal

A Netherlands-based company will now ensure Guwahati is made flood-free. Survey works for the proposed project have already begun, informed Assam Urban Affairs Minister Ashok Singhal on Wednesday.

The cabinet minister stated that a company based in the Netherlands has been entrusted with ensuring a repeat of the August 5 situation - traffic congestion and waterlogging due to heavy rainfall - does not occur.

Singhal said, "Survey work has already begun. We will inform the people whatever comes up in the report. The officials are sending in their reports, but we will be able to inform after compiling all of them."

He asserted that city's water-carrying capacity is the same as it was earlier. "We have not been able to increase that capacity. We are entrusting a foreign company to ensure this excess accumulated water can be transferred someplace else."

Peddling the narrative of Meghalaya's waters entering Assam, the Urban Affairs Minister further said, "Never before has so much water entered Assam from Meghalaya. The reason behind this will be discussed by experts. If I say something, I will be criticised. Discussion with the Meghalaya government will also be held soon."

"A committee has been constituted to oversee the entire thing and will file its report," said Singhal, asking for suggestions in this regard to be directed to the district commissioner.

Notably, the Assam Minister came under fire recently in the wake of the scenes in Guwahati on August 5. A short spell of heavy rainfall led to severe waterlogging bringing the city to a standstill.

Ashok Singhal had said then that the waters causing the flooding in Guwahati came from outside. "This is not Guwahati's water, it is Meghalaya's water. The water from Guwahati is typically black, while the water from Meghalaya has a red hue," he said.

Singhal explained that the red color of the floodwater was indicative of its origin, contrasting with the usual black water of Guwahati. The city's drainage system was overwhelmed by an unprecedented 136 mm of rainfall recorded in Chandmari within just an hour and a half, a volume beyond the system’s capacity.

Also Read: Who Holds the Blame for Guwahati's 'Flood Jihad': Protech Group or USTM?